


Ghost of the Nidaime

by RinRin



Series: Tumblr Fics [10]
Category: Naruto
Genre: GFY, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Mystery, Mythology References, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2018-11-18 23:44:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11301282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinRin/pseuds/RinRin
Summary: Madara sees someone,somethingin the woods and wonders what it is and what it could want.Izuna wants to know what Tobirama did.A mystery involving time travel, changing things that should not be changed, and what some people will give up for peace.





	1. Espy

Madara meets the kami as he’s returning from an assassination. The kami looks like a man, but there is something wild about him.

Madara slows down to observe this kami. He’s never seen one before, not really, and he has to wonder if they all are as breathtaking as this one.

The kami turns to him, silent as his red gaze moves over Madara. It’s chilling being the focus of such a being. After a moment the kami turns back to the river it’s sitting by and picks up a smooth rock. He runs his thumb over it and then turns back to Madara and holds it out.

Madara doesn’t move, unsure if going near this nameless being is wise, or if it’s worse to not approach.

The kami raises an eyebrow, and looks at him in amusement before standing and walking forward. With a sudden burst of speed, like a gust of wind in a storm, the kami is behind Madara. He spins, wanting to keep the kami in sight, but there is nothing behind him.

It is only later, when he is emptying his packs that he finds the stone. It’s pretty. Kind of a mix of colors, it reminds him the necklace he saw a noble’s daughter wear a few years back, though that was lighter and more of a purple than this blue rock. Ongi, an obligation to something, is carved into it.

Madara places the strangely smooth stone on his desk with a frown. He isn’t sure what to make of this…gift? Nor of the kami who gave it to him.

His brother looks started when he comes to greet him and catches sight of the stone. Madara tells him what happened and there is such a look of distress on Izuna’s face that he stumbles over his words. His brother reaches out, as if to touch the stone, but stops short.

Madara worries that Izuna sees a danger that he doesn’t. His brother has been strange these last few weeks. Izuna won’t say what caused him to change, but his brother is quieter, more contemplative. Madara has found him more than once practicing blindfolded, or with weights. Just as often he can find his brother researching something he cannot share.

But Izuna just shakes his head and reminds Madara that he has a meeting with Hashirama and his second, a Senju kunoichi by the name Touka, in the morning.

Izuna walks to the edge of the forest at dusk and stares into it. Soon enough red eyes meet his own. He studies them for a moment before he speaks.

“What obligation does my brother owe you Nidaime?”

As with every other time he has confronted the shade since waking from being a ghost in a village he never believed in, there is no verbal reply. Tobirama just holds out a piece of black onyx with the Konoha symbol etched into it.

Izuna frowns. He knows that the other has some idea as to what happened to them, but he refuses to speak. Izuna steps forward and takes the stone, slipping it into a pouch on his belt.

He glances away when he hears a sound from the compound, and when he turns back, Tobirama is gone. Izuna isn’t sure what happened, or why Tobirama doesn’t seem to exist anymore, but he’s working on figuring it out.


	2. Omitted

Madara sees the kami a few more times, but it, _he_ , disappears when Madara tries to get close. Madara can’t help but feel snubbed. He doesn’t think he insulted the kami, and yet he is avoiding Madara.  
It doesn’t matter, Madara’s busy with working on the peace treaty with the Senju anyway. (this is a lie, Madara _knows_ this is a lie, but he pretends it isn’t, especially as he can’t name why it is important that the kami be next to him).

Izuna expands the list of who he is going to for more obscure forms of fighting, though the Elders tut at his refusal to use his Sharingan for it. He asks the Senju for scrolls and books before the ink is even dry on the peace agreement. Madara isn’t sure what Izuna is looking for, but he seems frustrated at both the amount of information he is given and what he finds, or rather isn’t.

He isn’t trying to find the kami when their next interact happens. Madara is fairly confident that he could take the Gold and Silver Brothers but it would be destructive and he _won’t_ let his students be collateral damage.

He doesn’t even realize that he is in the area he first saw the kami until he breaks through the trees and there he is. The kami is staring from the other side of the river. Madara grits his teeth. It may be beyond the pale, but he’ll grab the kami as he passes him and then turn and face the brothers.

Except, except that the kami’s eyes narrow, his entire body flipping from his relaxed, cautious body language into that of a Warrior. The kami suddenly is passing Madara, a scowl on his face.

Madara spins, eyes wide. He’s treated to the sight of the kami pulling out a sword made from lightning. The kami holds his own admirably. Madara watches as he disappears and then reappears behind Kin and the man falls to the ground, clutching his side.

Gin yells in anger and rushes to his brother’s side.

There’s an open wound on the false Jinchuriki, and the stench of burnt flesh fills the air.

“Little Cousin, that wasn’t nice,” Gin snarls, pulling Kin up.

The kami just looks at them, adjusting his grip on the sword.

“Heh,” Kin spits blood out, “Little Cousin doesn’t want to talk,” his face contorts in rage, “ _We’ll tear it out of you._ ”

The kami sneers at them, placing himself between them and Madara.

There’s a crash and suddenly behind the Brothers is Hashirama and Izuna. Gin and Kin look between the two groups and scowl. Gin readjusts his grip on Kin.

“We’ll return to kill the little Uchiha and for _you_ Little Cousin,” Gin declares before leaping to the trees.

The kami bears his teeth and throws a pair of kunai at their backs.

“Madara?” Hashirama asks, his face serious, “Who is this?”

Something passes over the kami’s face, too fast for Madara to catch it, but Izuna seems to know what it was. Madara’s brother is solemn as he stares at the kami.

“This is, um,” Madara realizes that he can’t say the truth to his old friend. As far as he knows, Hashirama doesn’t believe in anything Spiritual, he might believe that the kami has tricked Madara and try to fight him.

“An old friend,“Izuna speaks up, staring at the kami. He looks like he’s chewing on something for a moment before continuing, “Rin.”

The kami blinks at Izuna and inclines his head at Hashirama.

“Senju Hashirama, pleasure to meet you.”

There’s a quiet sorrow around the kami, but Hashirama doesn’t seem to notice.


	3. Izuna's Introspective

Izuna  _aches_  as Tobirama ghosts through Konoha, as the Senju watch him, suspicion in their eyes. He watches as the children - Tobirama’s children - flock to him, uncaring of his silence.

It’s a bittersweet scene, seeing Tobirama and his students. It had always been Izuna’s favorite part in that other life.

In his darkest moments of that other life, he blamed those two great idiots for not making it possible earlier for Tobirama to find his calling. The man is a natural teacher and yet it took so long before he could have students. So much time wasted on War and running after his brother.

Izuna worries, some days, that he isn’t doing right by his students, by Tobirama’s students. He isn’t the natural that Tobirama is, he is an ill fit in truth for these three, though Madara would be iller still. Each of the six who had and even now are flocking to Tobirama has an air about them. It is as if their importance is written into their very aura. Izuna has the advantage of knowing where they ended up last time around, and of what to head off, but he is sure Tobirama would do better.

Already he has made progress with them, nudging Izuna’s kids in directions he hadn’t realized they needed - Koharu quickly finishes the scroll he finds her and then re-reads it, taking notes, while Homura is gifted obscure weapons and a challenging tilt of an eyebrow. Hiruzen he pokes and prods into practicing his bōjutsu.

Even Madara’s students have individualized offerings for directions when Izuna can steal them away.

Izuna can’t help but wish he could keep the gentle smile on Tobirama’s face during those moments. His once rival is drowning in the consequences of whatever this is, it’s tearing him apart. Some days Izuna finds him staring into the forest, as if he wants to disappear into them, away from those he  _loves_  who see him as a stranger. Izuna always wants to drag him to those who already adore him, to  _prove_  he belongs here without a shadow of a doubt.

And then there are the moments where someone - Hashirama, Touka, Mito, one of the kids, any number of the Clans who have joined that once upon a time Tobirama was something like friends with - talk to the now mute man and call him “Rin” and it is  _Izuna_  who wants to scream.

He wants to yell, and rage. He wants to tell Tobirama’s story, to make them realize who it is that wanders their village like an unjustly killed bride. He wants to shove Tobirama’s true name at them. But he can’t. He can’t say the name when he’s near others, and they wouldn’t understand if he wrote it out and handed it to them.

A name is more than just a word, he knows. It is the  _meaning_  behind that word. The history and knowledge of that person. No other Izuna has  _his_  name. How much would it hurt to hear the wrong name with the right sounds from a loved one?

Izuna cannot do that to the Nidaime.


End file.
